RJHS East basketball teams open seasons with victoriesCourier sports staff Even when it comes to basketball, father usually knows best. Don Keaster picked up a victory over his son Chad, as the Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds defeated the Hector Junior Wildcats 47-29 Tuesday night in the season opener. Russellville East (1-0) never trailed in the victory and was led by Derek Owens with 13 points. Eric Narcum added 10 points, and Chris Bagby chipped in with eight. Hunter Hoffman led the W...

Junior Lady Apaches beat PerryvilleCourier sports staff PERRYVILLE - The Pottsville Junior High Lady Apaches defeated the Perryville Junior High Lady Mustangs 38-33 in non-conference action to open the season with a victory. The Lady Apaches took a 17-16 lead into halftime and didn't let up. Andrea Willingham led Pottsville with 13 points and added eight rebounds. Stacie Murders recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Britney Nealy added nine points, three stea...

RJHS cross country teams close out seasonsCourier sports staff CABOT - The Russellville Junior High Whirlwind cross country teams completed their season with a strong performance at the Wal-Mart Invitational in Cabot. For the first time, RJHS split into East and West squads in both divisions for the 2-mile race. Russellville East captured a second-place finish in the boys' division behind a first-place finish by Thomas Fancher, whose winning time was 11 minutes, 33 seconds. Rounding o...

Junior Sand Lizards claim 5AAA Conference football championshipCourier sports staff CLARKSVILLE - Lucas Loving threw for a touchdown and ran for another, helping Dardanelle capture the 5AAA Conference junior high title Thursday night with a 22-6 road victory over Clarksville. Loving helped the Sand Lizards (7-2, 6-0) supply all the scoring in the first half, hitting Will McCormick with a 6-yard touchdown pass. The score stayed that way until the third quarter, when Loyd Miller ran 3 yards for the score an...

Russellville Junior High East defeats West Whirlwinds 21-20By Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds squeaked by Russellville West just as narrowly as Josh Crane's extra point creeped over the goalpost in a 21-20 win Thursday night at Cyclone Stadium. Crane - who hadn't attempted a PAT since the second week of the season - added the point after on the East's first touchdown, as the annual East-West game lived up to its billing of a close game. "It was an awesome...

Devil Pups run away from West Whirlwinds; RJHS East prevailsBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Behind the speed and athletic ability of Jermaine Evans - who caught three touchdown passes and ran for two more - the Morrilton Devil Pups proved to be too much for the Russellville West Whirlwinds in a 43-20 win Thursday night at Cyclone Stadium. "We just couldn't compete with their athletic ability," West coach Joey Jones said. "We just got outmanned." The West (1-6-1) was within14-6 at one point, but Ev...

Russellville Junior High football teams split league gamesCourier sports staff Russellvile Junior High School's football teams split a pair of Central Arkansas Junior HighConference games Thursday night. The West Whirlwinds dropped a 43-20 decision to Morrilton at Cyclone Stadium, while Russellville East recorded its second victory of the season with a 16-8 decision at Greenbrier. More details on both games will be in Saturday's Courier.

RJHS football teams look to start new win streaks tonightBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Junior High Whirlwinds are coming off tough competition last week in games against two top Central Arkansas Junior High Conference North Division teams in Vilonia and Searcy. Highlighting the past week was the emotional win by Russellville West (1-5-1) over the previously undefeated Searcy Cubs in a 14-6 victory at Cyclone Stadium behind a strong defensive performance and two touchdown pass...

RJHS Lady Whirlwind volleyball teams wrap up seasonsCourier sports staff VILONIA - The Russellville Junior High Lady Whirlwind volleyball teams concluded their 2004 seasons Saturday in the second day of the Mid-Arkansas Junior High Conference tournament in Vilonia. Russellville East saw its first action of the tournament Saturday - after the match scheduled with Greenbrier was forfeited Wednesday, the first day of the two-day tournament - with a matchup with Conway White. The East Lady 'Winds f...

Win propels Dardanelle junior Sand Lizards to top of 5AAA standingsCourier sports staff DARDANELLE - Mark Haynie had two long touchdown runs, while Lucas Loving ran for a score and passed for another as Dardanelle took control of the 5AAA Conference junior high football race with a 34-12 victory Thursday night over visiting Clinton. The win gives the Sand Lizards (5-2, 4-0) sole possession of first place in the league standings after handing Clinton (5-2, 3-1) its first league loss. Loving gave Dardanelle a 6...

RJHS West Whirlwinds blow past Searcy, 14-6By Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Junior High West Whirlwinds and head coach Joey Jones have had their share of disappointments with six losses to open the season. However, the West squad (1-6, 1-2) shook all that off and came up with maybe its best performance of the year in a 14-6 victory over the previously-unbeaten Searcy Cubs Thursday night at Cyclone Stadium. "It feels great to finally get a win," a relieved Jones sai...

RJHS East football team loses at ViloniaCourier sports staff VILONIA - Russellville Junior High's East football team watched a 14-point lead slip away Thursday night, then had a fourth-quarter fumble at the goal line fall out of its hands, resulting in the Whirlwinds' 20-14 loss to Vilonia. Russellville East jumped out to an 14-0 lead early in the contest with a pair of long pass plays, the first one coming on a 63-yard pass to Randall Stancil. Drew Harris followed with a two-point ...

Volleyball Lady Whirlwinds win twice at tournamentCourier sports staff VILONIA - The Russellville Junior High West Lady Whirlwind volleyball team took two out of three matches on the opening day of the Mid-Arkansas Conference tournament Wednesday at Vilonia. The West Lady Whirlwinds started by defeating Bryant 25-19, 25-12. Christa Aylesworth racked up five points in the first game. Megan Guarino added four and Kara Rinke three. Aylesworth totaled nine points in the second game and Cora Johns...

East girls defeat Vilonia; RJHS West slips in finaleCourier sports staff Russellville Junior High's East ninth-grade volleyball team closed out its regular season with a positive note, taking a victory over Vilonia in action Monday afternoon at the RJHS gym. The Lady Whirlwinds recorded a 25-19, 25-21 victory over the Lady Eagles, with Cody Brookhouser scoring six points, including an ace, in the first game while Kelsey Coulter added five points, including an ace. In the second game, Holly Russ...

Russellville Junior High East suffers loss to Searcy ... West Whirlwinds stumble on roadBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com Playing a good game is usually not enough when mistakes in crucial times are factored in. That was the case Thursday night as the Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds fell short to the Searcy Junior High Cubs, 14-8, at Cyclone Stadium. "If we elminate the mistakes, we win," East coach Jeff Terry said. "We played good overall. We held them to 14 points and should have won." After surrendering what turned...

Russellville Junior High football teams seeking first conference winsBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Junior High Whirlwind football teams enter play week two of AAAAA Conference play needing their first league victories. Russellville East (1-4, 0-1) is coming off a 34-8 loss last week to Morrilton and hopes to rebound as it hosts Searcy tonight at Cyclone Stadium. Russellville West (0-4-1, 0-1) fell short in a 24-14 loss to high-powered Vilonia last week. The West is looking to pick up its...

Russellville Junior High volleyball teams splitCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High West Lady Whirlwinds were victorious in a home match Wednesday against Vilonia in ninth-grade action 25-18, 16-25, 15-9. Kara Rinke led the West in the first game with five service points, including an ace. Cora Johnson added four service points with two aces and Christa Aylesworth chipped in with three service points. Johnson racked up three service points in the second game and seven in the d...

Hector junior Wildcats beat LR EpiscopalCourier sports staff HECTOR - Tyler Robertson wound up carrying the football 30 times Thursday night, but his last rushing attempt turned out to be the most important one for Hector's junior high football team. The seventh-grade fullback ran 5 yards for a touchdown in overtime as the Wildcats rallied for a 20-14 victory over Little Rock Episcopal in 4AA Conference action. Hector (2-3, 2-1) was trailing 14-6 after Episcopal scored on a reverse ...

Vilonia Eagles soar past Russellville Junior High West WhirlwindsBy Mark Burke sports@couriernews.com The Vilonia Junior High Eagles controlled the clock in the second half and hung on for a 24-14 victory over the Russellville Junior High West Whirlwinds Thursday night at Cyclone Stadium. "I had said that the game was going to come down to who got the last break and (Vilonia) got it and won," West coach Joey Jones said. Russellville West was only able to get seven plays in the second half because of the Eag...

Russellville Junior High East defeats West in volleyballCourier sports staff The East squad came up with a 25-19, 25-16 win over the West in ninth-grade action Wednesday as the two Russellville Junior High Lady Whirlwind teams battled at the RJHS gymnasium. Autumn Stewart led the East in the first game with seven points, including three aces. Kelsey Coulter added four points with an ace. Cora Johnson and Kara Rinke both had three service points to lead the West Lady 'Winds in the game. In the secon...